Why Big Companies Make Bad Content

As an SEO, I often find myself reading countless blogs. Recently, I stumbled upon an insightful post by Ryan Law , which delves into why big companies often produce bad content. Surprisingly, I share the same sentiment: the larger a company grows, the worse its content marketing becomes.

Take a look at HubSpot teaching you how to type the shrug emoji or buy bitcoin stock. Or Salesforce sharing inspiring business quotes. Then there's GoDaddy helping you use Bing AI, or Zendesk sharing catchy sales slogans.

To an actual reader interested in these topics, these articles fall flat. Imagine a housing website posting about "Best places to visit in August in India," or a financial site like Moneycontrol writing about "How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight." These pieces don’t resonate with decision-makers. No one will purchase a HubSpot license after searching "how to buy bitcoin stock." It’s vanity traffic: lots of visits with no real impact on the business.

Why Does This Happen?

1. More Traffic is Better than Less

Companies believe that more traffic is always better. But what about topical authority? If a company strays too far from its expertise, won’t its rankings suffer? Yet, look at Forbes’ “health” section, generating millions of organic pageviews monthly.

Imagine a company at a tradeshow, shoving flyers at everyone who walks by. That's kinda what goes on online. Companies chase "traffic," which is just a fancy word for the number of people visiting their website. They think more visitors equal more sales, so they pump out tons of content, even if it's totally random. It's a numbers game, hoping something will stick.

2. The Bigger You Get, the Cheaper Content Becomes

As companies grow, they get good at making content fast. But fast doesn't always mean great. This can lead to boring, generic articles and posts that nobody really cares about. Think of it like microwaved food - sure, it fills you up, but it's not exactly delicious.

3. When You IPO, Your Audience Becomes... Everyone

A growing company needs a bigger audience to sustain its growth rate. Companies like HubSpot expand from marketing to sales and customer success, launching new product lines for much larger audiences. Their content marketing audience grows alongside.

Peep Laja shared a thought-provoking tweet:

“When in early stages, you have to focus.

But as you grow in revenue and want to become a monster company, they all seem to become for ‘everyone.’ Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Freshworks, etc.

Any exceptions here? $1B+ B2B SaaS companies that are narrowly focused?”

My friend Saket Gupta also said lovely quote:

"Companies starts with quality, and ends up on quantity."

And my thought on this is "It's like trying to be friends with everyone at a party, but you end up not really connecting with anyone."

4. "The Rat Race" Your Competitors Will Make You

The internet is super competitive. Companies worry that if they don't claim their spot on search engines for tons of keywords, their rivals will steal the show. So they crank out content, not always the best, just to be seen.

Pumping out “bad” content and chasing vanity traffic is a way to deny your rivals an unchallenged share of voice and ensure your brand always has a presence.

However, this approach can lead to reduced focus on your target audience, wasted resources on non-converting content, and a damaged reputation from low-quality content.

Finding the Balance

Creating content for a wider range of keywords, even irrelevant ones, can make it harder for competitors to rank for those terms. But is this your moral goal? If your leadership and team agree on this approach, remember it won’t necessarily convert your business from billions to hundreds of billions it’s just cheap digital billboards. There is a benefit, but not in the way most marketers are used to.

The Better Way

Great content isn't about tricking people into clicking. It's about building relationships with your audience. Think helpful, informative, and engaging stuff that people actually want to read or watch.

The Bottom Line

Big companies might create "bad" content for a few reasons, but it's not like they're trying to be evil. They're just trying to navigate the crazy world of online marketing. But hey, shouldn't companies care more about building connections with real people than just website traffic numbers? We think so!

A Collaborative Future?

What if SEO professionals and content creators joined forces with companies to bridge the gap? SEOs could offer insights into audience needs and search trends, while content creators craft compelling pieces that address these needs. Companies, in turn, could focus on building genuine connections with their audience through high-quality content.